


Frost Rotom

by Nhitori



Series: I am SparkBlanche Trash [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pokemon GO
Genre: Nonbinary Blanche, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-28
Updated: 2016-07-28
Packaged: 2018-07-27 05:46:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7605988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nhitori/pseuds/Nhitori
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Someone mails Blanche an egg as a prank.</p><p>Looks like it's time for a visit with the Local Memelord.  The Local Memelord who Blanche has avoided being alone with for over a year out of confusing feelings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Frost Rotom

**Author's Note:**

> Basically I did my best to create a PokeGo world fitting in with the main series games and the way pokemon would work if Pokego was a little more than augmented reality. I used multiple Gens since they will be added eventually! Please enjoy!

Blanche couldn't believe this happened.

They'd been enjoying their day. Honestly, it was a pretty nice day. One of their researchers (read, Team Mystic grunts) discovered a mega stone along the road, although... They still couldn't get it to activate, having the stone at all was spectacular progress...

And of course, that was when it all went south. They'd walked down to the post office, since their Pidgeot wasn't quite carrier-trained yet, to mail Candela a weekly shipment of proteins, calciums, HP-Ups and the like that Blanche had stumbled across amidst their research. Stat modifiers were useful for any trainer, but in terms of research, much more suited to Candela. Despite their rivalry, Blanche still considered it important to aid their fellow team leaders in the scientific pursuits. As long as Team Mystic still held enough gyms, of course.

"Blanche!" The postal worker at the counter greeted them with a smile somewhere between real and customer service, "Hey, we got in a package for you! We were going to deliver it tomorrow, but since you're here today anyway, why don't you take it now?"

"A package? For me?" They raised their eyebrows, incredulous, "Did Candela finally decide to return the favor and send me some evolutionary stones?"

"It doesn't have a return address," He shrugged, "Let me go get it for you," The worker disappeared into the back for a moment before returning with a cubic cardboard box, and placing it onto the counter, "Here you go."

"Can I open it here, in case it's something I don't care about and want to mail back again?" They questioned, and the worker nodded, so they reached over and pulled the tape off of the package. Folding open the cardboard panels, they wrinkled their nose and uttered confusion, "What the Hell...?"

"I'd have to agree with you on that, Blanche," The postal worker nodded as he looked into the box. Sitting there, in a pile of styrofoam oran berries, was a beige-and-green speckled orb. Yes. An egg.

"Okay," They said, grimacing and leaning away from the box, "Okay, well, I'd like to mail this again. Can we relabel it? What will shipping cost on something like this..."

"Zero dollars, because mailing eggs is illegal," He answered, then looked up at them, "You're stuck with it."

"What!?" Blanche's demeanor faltered and they nearly screeched, stumbling backwards before they took a deep breath and stood up straight again, "I mean. What exactly do you mean by... I'm stuck with it?"

"Well, you can trade it with somebody I guess," He shrugged, "But I don't really know how somebody managed to mail you an egg in the first place."

"I don't really know _why_ somebody would mail me an egg in the first place!" They protested, holding one hand to their chest and moving forward again to put a palm down on the counter, ponytail falling over the front of their shoulder, "I don't know the first thing about hatching eggs! What if I break it?"

"Sorry Blanche, can't help you. Guess you just have to find somebody to give it to in person?" He offered, and they sighed before taking the egg package and leaving the post office.

Receiving the egg, however, wasn't what changed the tone of their day from good to bad.

It was the realization that they'd have to go see Spark.

After sitting down on a bench outside for a good twenty minutes of brooding, they stood up with the egg package clutched begrudgingly to their chest. Of course an egg. Of course. It couldn't have been something they could use, or even something that they'd have to personally bring to _Candela_. They had nothing against Spark of course. He lived life to the fullest, and his research to hatching better eggs did seem effective. However, nobody could deny that Spark was obnoxious at times. In Blanche's opinion, those times were all times.

Nonetheless... He was the egg expert. Being as they were, Blanche couldn't possibly hand over what could potentially be a rare egg to any old person. Not even one of their own researchers/grunts. Of course they couldn't. When it came to something as mysterious as this, they needed to go to a professional. If only that professional wasn't likely to teach the hatched pokemon how to dab.

Well, no point in delaying the inevitable. They made their way back to Mystic HQ; they'd walked to the post office, but would need some slightly different transportation to reach Instinct Headquarters. It was a ways away, after all. Lucky them, Blanche had the perfect transport to go that distance. Spark and Candela did similarly; Although, Blanche was of the opinion that _theirs_ was the best, and in technical terms, it was objectively the coolest.

Frivolity was something which Blanche did not partake in very often. Not that they never had fun, but that fun usually had some sort of research purpose, or was simply to destress after a long day. Adrenaline rushes for the sake of it were unappealing in general, but they had to pity anybody who lived an entire lifetime without ever riding on the back of a legendary pokemon. In this case, of course, Articuno.

They transferred the Egg from the precarious cardboard package to a padded laptop bag, then climbed the stairs up to their roof. Articuno wasn't there at the moment, of course, but all they needed to do was whistle and it would return home, no matter where in the world it was. This was the mystic bond Blanche held with Articuno. They kept the nature of this connection secret, though they did know those of the other team leaders. Moltres would come to Candela if she was endangered, and Zapdos... Well, similar to Spark's own rebellious nature, Zapdos required itself to be found rather than summoned. Spark had a knack for finding Zapdos, merely on intuition, but Blanche still considered those bonds to be more primal than their own.

Articuno arrived within moments, landing gently on the roof then stepping forward on its tiny little bird legs. Blanche approached it, then placed a hand on its head. It chirped happily, and they smiled before moving to get onto the bird's back. No saddle necessary; their connection was so strong that Articuno would always be obedient to Blanche's wishes, and would never allow them to fall.

Well, would never allow them to fall until today. When approaching Instinct HQ, Blanche began to hear a raucous noise. Articuno clearly did too, braking hard a few feet from the building, and many feet above it, causing Blanche to fall from their perch. Their life flashed before their eyes, alongside a worry that the egg which gave them all this trouble would crack upon landing, but they hardly had time to scream before they found themself suspended in the air. And felt their hair standing on end. They didn't have to look up to know that their coat had been snatched in the beak of none other than Zapdos. Although, that knowledge didn't keep them from being baffled.

"Hey!" A familiar and grating voice called up. Blanche glanced down to confirm; yes, there was Spark, looking awfully smug with his hands on his hips and an insufferable smirk plastered across his face, "Blanche, eh? You know, even with the help of Articuno, you can't really launch a one-person invasion of Instinct Headquarters very easily!"

"I'm not trying to invade, I just wanted to speak with you!" They protested, flailing their limbs aimlessly in the air, "But I got close, and this horrible noise caused Articuno to refuse to land!"

"Well, you're lucky I was here with Zapdos then, eh?" He chuckled as his bird slowly brought Blanche onto the ground, "That would have been messy. I do have a complaint though. That's not horrible noise, it's All Star! By Smashmouth!"

"Do I even _want_ to know why your Headquarters is blasting that...?" They questioned, getting their bearings as Zapdos set them down, and smoothing down their hair.

"I dunno," Spark shrugged, starting to stroll towards the door, "I'll tell you, though. It's encouraging music for the unhatched eggs! Because they're all All Stars!"

"I'm not so sure that song means what you think," Blanche shook their head, following Spark, "What gave you this idea...?"

"Well, Professor Willow gave me a grant recently!" He explained, moving his hands behind his head.

"So you used it to finance an ambitious research project... Surprisingly smart, coming from you," Blanche nodded, holding their chin.

"Oh, no, I just used it to buy a speaker system for Headquarters. Then I had to find a way to justify it with science," He chuckled sheepishly.

"Of course you did. God forbid you actually had foresight for once in your life."

"Hey, acting on impulse has always brought me success before! Success and lots of injuries," He protested, then paused and turned to look at Blanche, "Hey, what'd you want to see me about anyway? It better not be about gyms. You steal them from me all the time as it is."

"It's not about gyms," Blanche sighed, then reached into the laptop bag and produced the egg, "It's about this, Spark."

"An egg...?" He questioned, leaning forward to inspect it, "Well, well, Blanche. How did _you_ end up with an egg? I thought you pawned them off on your grunts all the time. You trying to convert to instinct or something? I don't think leaders can do that..."

"Somebody mailed this to me," They explained, "It's mysterious. I wouldn't give this to one of my researchers, in case it was something very rare... All I could think to do with it was bring it to you. Egg Expert Spark."

"Egg Expert Spark... I like the sound of that, Blanchy! Well-"

"Never call me Blanchy again," They deapanned, "Or I will make an alliance with Valor just to crush you."

"Okay, okay, jeeze. Sensitive," Spark groaned, then spun in a circle, "Anyway! You came to the right guy. I'll find out what's up with this egg, and make sure it hatches happy too!"

"Wonderful. Well then," They shoved the egg into Spark's arms, then whirled around, "Thank you. I'll be on my way, then."

"Whoa whoa whoa, wait just a minute there Blanche," He reached out and grabbed their wrist, grinning, "You need to hear my conditions for taking this egg for you before you go!"

"A condition? Dear God," They feigned terror, "What could _you_ possibly want from me? Please. Be lenient."

"Nothing big!" He waved a hand in front of him, cradling the egg in his other arm, "It's just, hatching an egg requires walking around with it in an incubator! So if I'm going to do this, well, it'd only be fair if you came and walked with me, right? No talking necessary! I'd just like some company."

"If you want company without speech, just take a pokemon," They shrugged, "A simple solution. One that even you should have been able to think of."

"Look, is it really too much to ask to spend a little time with you, Blanche? Yeah, we're rivals, but that doesn't mean we can't be friends! And you're friends with Candela! Please?" Spark stepped forward, looking up at Blanche with what could only be described as a shoddy attempt at lillipuppy-dog eyes.

"Ugh. Fine. Knowing you, you probably just need a bodyguard... Or some external impulse control," They sighed, "Well, here's a day wasted, but I suppose there's nothing I was going to do that can't be done tomorrow."

"Fut yeah!" He raised his free fist in the air, then grinned as he dashed off for a few moments, returning in record time with the egg now placed into an incubator, "Let's go! Oh my God Blanche, it's been forever since we hung out!"

"Not true. We've hung out in the past, therefore, not forever," They put a hand on their hip, "And figuratively, you're still wrong. I saw you just last week, when the Professor took the three of us to Cheesecake Factory."

"Well yeah, but it's been like... More than a year since we hung out _one on one_ and that's not fair. You're so fun to be around!" Spark walked backwards, moving his hands as he spoke and sounding earnest.

"Me? Fun to be around? Well, now I know you're just giving me empty compliments," They shook their head, following Spark, "Don't walk backwards, you'll hurt yourself."

"I'm not a liar!" He insisted, and did turn around at Blanche's request, "You tell good jokes! And like, don't let any of my team members know I said this, but I think evolution is really cool!" He grinned, then gave them a finger pistol, "Not my speed, but whoa! It's totally wild how they can just change like that. So you're also totally wild!"

"I'm not sure if those are the words I would use, but..." They shrugged, "Thank you. If only I could figure out mega evolution... Then I'd be unstoppable."

"Unstoppable, huh? Well, I guess Candela and I should be grateful you haven't yet!" Spark teased, taking up a quicker pace in his high emotions, which Blanche had to make an effort to keep up with.

"I'm sure by the time I've got it worked out, you two will have made discoveries to match the power of mega evolution in your own ways," Blanche shook their head and crossed their arms, "Just my luck, having such competent rivals..."

"Competent? Hold up. Are you feeling okay? Got a fever? You just call me... Competent?" Spark questioned, pointing at himself with a goofy grin.

"Well, you're competent at your job anyway. Life, not so much, but as much as I wonder what could ever possess you to vape, I must admit that you're the only person I've ever met who can hatch pokemon who are battle ready from day one."

"Wow, that's so nice of you to say!" Spark seemed genuinely touched by the assessment of his skill level, "Thanks Blanche! I knew it was a good idea to spend some time together! Aren't you enjoying yourself too? Aren't you?"

"...I guess that I am," They smiled a bit, crossing their arms, "Insufferable as you are," They chuckled, then stopped where they stood, "Say, have you ever seen a Politoed?"

"Politoed? No, I haven't!" Spark shook his head, "Those are really weird to evolve, right? You need some item?"

"Correct. Of course, I found a way to evolve one without the item, which is wonderful given the rarity of such things," Blanche smirked, then pulled out a pokeball. Spark was in their court now; after all that praise, they had to prove that they were indeed still better than him, "Want to meet him?"

"Totally!" Spark nodded, leaning in as Blanche pressed the button on the pokeball and allowed it out. Spark looked, then just snickered, "Here come dat boi!"

"..." Blanche stared at him for a moment, but then they relented, "Oh shit, whaddup."

"Yoooooooo," Spark stretched the word, pointing at Blanche and grinning like an idiot, "Blanche, you just memed with me! You memed!"

"I figured somebody should humor you just once," They brushed it off, ignoring the amazement that Spark had, "Anyhow, that's only one of my many accomplishments. You have a jolteon, yes? And needed no thunderstone? That's thanks to my research."

"Whoa! Wow, whoa!" His eyes were wide and seemed to be sparkling, "I always forget how amazing you are, Blanche! Tesla's one of my favorite pokemon!"

"Tesla...?" They questioned, raising an eyebrow as they returned the politoed to its ball.

"That's what I named my Jolteon!" He explained, kicking at a rock on the ground, "Thanks for making that possible!"

"I mean, thunderstones aren't particularly difficult to come by, but you're welcome anyhow," They smirked, basking smugly in the praise.

"You're so cool, Blanche," Spark chuckled, shaking his head, "Get it? Cause you're ice?"

"Yes. I get it," Blanche deadpanned, then reached into their pocket again to pull out an odd, multicolored stone, "Hey. You got any of these, by any chance?"

"That's so pretty..." Spark mumbled, leaning in far too close and staring at it, "What is it...?"

"It's a mega stone," Blanche explained, "A researcher of mine found it while visiting Hoenn. I think it's Blastoisite. Unfortunately... I can't seem to activate it."

"You know, I did see something kind of like that..." Spark trailed off as he stood up straight, then took a necklace out from under his shirt, an odd shape with a sort of rainbow pattern on it, "I don't know what this is, I just thought it looked cool. Got it in Kalos."

"Hmm..." Blanche leaned closer to it, stroking their chin, "Interesting... Name your price."

"I 'unno, I bought it for like five bucks," He shrugged, then dropped it in their hand, "For a friend, though, I'm willing to part with it for no reason at all. It might help you figure out mega evolution, right?"

"Why would you help your rival in such a way...?" Blanche questioned, frowning, "For free, you'll help me gain access to another, stronger form of evolution?"

"Totally! I mean, we're scientists first, friends second, and rivals third! At least that's what I think!" Spark explained, "So of course I'll give you that!"

"Hm," Blanche inspected the necklace, then nodded and put it around their neck, "I... Agree. With your philosophy. Now that I think about it, anyhow."

"I'm glad!" Spark grinned, "I get the science part is probably even more important to you, but it's nice to know friendship's more important to you than fighting!"

"Of course it is. I'm not a monster," Blanche shrugged, smiling a bit, "Or, well, not a heartless one anyway... Some might say that it's a bit monstrous to experiment on evolution the way I do..."

"Well, they don't know shit!" Spark retorted, way too loud, "It's not like you hurt your pokemon! I've seen you with them! They love you lots and want to impress you!"

"You can tell?" They questioned, turning to look at Spark.

"Yeah! Call it..." He made finger pistols, "Instinct."

"..." Blanche just gave him a blank stare.

"Come on, that was funny!" He complained, then paused where he was and pointed at a building; a warehouse, it looked like, "That's my gym."

"What?" Blanche questioned, looking at it. They did note the yellow coloration of the internal lights, yes, but why was this one notable?

"This warehouse. It's the only gym that's only ever belonged to instinct, since it's out here in the middle of nowhere, and I got ten levels on it! Some of my coolest pokemon hang out here! Wanna see em?"

"Yes. However..." Blanche narrowed their eyes, stepping closer to the warehouse, "I'm a bit concerned. Doesn't it look like something's happening inside there?"

"My Pichu, Ralphy, sometimes throws parties in there," Spark shrugged, "They have fun. It's not like anyone ever goes in there."

"Doesn't look much like a party to me," They frowned and crossed their arms, turning back to face Spark, "Spark, it looks like a battle."

"A battle...?" He questioned, and no sooner had he said that then he saw the lights inside the warehouse turn to red, "What...? No! Come on! Candela said I could keep this gym..." He whined.

"Well, maybe somebody in Valor just didn't get the memo. You have plenty of strong pokemon, yes?" They stepped forward, towards the door of the warehouse, "Just take it back. They could probably only take the gym by tag teaming."

"Right!" He perked back up, clenching his fist before he ran into the warehouse. Blanche followed quickly, just in case he ran into trouble. As expected, there was a group of Team Valor grunts standing in the middle of the building.

"...What's this?" One of them questioned, spotting Spark and Blanche then pointing them out to her buddies, "Hey, is it just me, or are those two the leaders of Mystic and Instinct?"

"Yeah, you're right!" Another one agreed, grinning, "The opportunity of a lifetime."

"What... What's that supposed to mean?" Spark questioned as the Valor group approached him.

"It means," The girl who spoke first, seemingly the ringleader of the small group leaned in towards his face, holding up a pokeball, "This is our chance to put our _enemies_ out of commission."

"Enemies?" Blanche questioned, putting their hands on their hips, "Illogical assessment. Teams Valor, Mystic, and Instinct are rivals. Not enemies."

"For someone who's supposed to be smart, you're pretty oblivious," One of the other goons snarked, "We don't care. We just wanna win."

"They're renegades, Blanche!" Spark shouted over, stepping away from the girl who threatened him as she released a sandslash from that pokeball, "They don't answer to Candela!"

"Does that matter? It's against the law to use pokemon moves on people, Spark. They're just looking for a battle..." Blanche explained, though they seemed to be trying to convince themself that this was the case.

"Really think we give a shit about the law?" The ringleader chuckled, leaning her cheek on a fingerless-gloved hand, while grabbing a pole with the other. Blanche noticed the others were doing the same, but couldn't react fast enough to this observation, "Sandslash~! Use Earthquake."

Spark was impacted more by the movement. While Blanche was at least able to brace themself by throwing their body to the wall, Spark was out in the open, and was thrown up into the air, and what goes up must come down. He had no time to help himself, only to move the egg so it wouldn't hit the ground. He landed hard; luckily, Blanche didn't hear anything snap, but he certainly looked like he was in pain.

"Spark!" Blanche shouted across the warehouse, "Come on, fight back!"

"Useless," The ringleader grinned as her flunkies started letting out their own pokemon. Dugtrio, Camerupt, Rhyhorn, "You can't touch us with electric moves."

"Fine then," Blanche hissed, stepping away from the wall and grabbing a pokeball, "I'll do it _for_ him," They tossed the pokeball out towards the center of the warehouse, letting out a blastoise, "Because unlike you headstrong types... I am prepared for any type matchup."

"What good is one blastoise against all of our pokemon?" One of the goons snickered, "It's not like that's a _really_ strong pokemon!"

Blanche didn't respond to this; they simply stepped closer to their blastoise, and handed it a stone. From where he was still lying on the ground, Spark recognized the item. It was what Blanche had hypothesized as being blastoisite. Blanche... The leader of team mystic, was taking a risk. The kind of risk that he himself would take, but this was different. It was totally different when he was the only one in danger.

"Blanche!" Spark yelled, "Don't! Just run, you're outnumbered!"

"Tch," Blanche shook their head, "What sort of pokemon trainer would abandon a friend?" They questioned, then with a disturbingly calm air, wrapped both their hands around the necklace and closed their eyes. Spark... wasn't sure quite what happened next, but he did know when all the weird magical-girl style glowing was finished, blastoise had gotten a bit more intense.

"What... What the Hell is that?" One of the goons pointed at it, grimacing, "That's... Not a... Not a blastoise...?"

"Oh, it is," Blanche smirked, "Spark, hold your breath. Mega Blastoise. Use surf."

Spark's reaction times were much better when he understood the situation; not only did he hold his breath, but he managed to roll enough to wrap his arms around one of the warehouse's supports as the entire building filled up with a gigantic wave; A much more powerful use of surf than blastoise regularly would have had, he was certain. As soon as the water cleared, both team leaders took deep breaths, and were glad to see that immediately following their aqeous experience, the renegades turned tail and ran.

Blastoise returned to its natural form, then to its pokeball in turn, without a word from Blanche. It seemed to understand that its trainer needed a moment to catch their breath. They leaned against the wall, gasping for a few minutes before they looked up to meet Spark's eyes across the room, and let a sheepish smile spread across their face.

"S-so..." Spark mumbled, using the support as help to get back onto his feet, "That necklace..."

"Yes," Blanche nodded, the smile turning to a smirk, "You helped me unlock the power of mega evolution. You and Valor are _toast_."

"Dammit, Blanche..." He chuckled nervously, clutching his stomach and shaking his head, "But... You definitely saved me. So you deserve this gym."

"I don't think so," They shrugged, closing their eyes, "Like you said. It's your gym. If Candela already promised to let you keep it, she might get mad at me for taking it. Go ahead. It's unclaimed, right now."

"Are you sure?" He asked, making his way across the floor to stand with them and gain the ability to be quieter, regardless of if he used that ability or not, "Thanks."

"Of course," Blanche nodded, "Every team has renegades, of course. I knew that, I only hoped these were regular members of Team Valor. Maybe you wouldn't have been injured if I'd acted sooner..."

"Who cares that I'm injured?" He shook his head, laughing a bit, "It'll heal! If you weren't here, I definitely wouldn't be able to say that! Plus, that mega blastoise thing was totally amazing!"

"Couldn't have done it without you," Blanche shrugged, "Anyway. Should we go back to your HQ? Some dry clothes would probably be a good idea before we get hypothermia."

"Okay, yeah," He nodded, "Except you'd probably have to wear some of my clothes. That okay?"

"It's not as if I've ever put any of my clothes at your HQ. I was expecting the need to borrow some."

"...Right," Spark nodded, then turned back to look at the warehouse and sighed, "That was dumb. If I'd been here by myself, with only the electric types I took with me... I'd have been doomed."

"You weren't by yourself though," Blanche left, and gestured for Spark to follow them as they walked back in the direction of Instinct HQ, "I was here, with the virtue of planning for type matchups. Focusing on electric types puts you at a horrendous disadvantage."

"You're right, but," Spark stepped up to them and put a hand on their shoulder, "You were pretty impulsive too, counting on mega evolution working like that... I was worried! You made a happy-go-lucky guy like me worry, Blanche!"

"Sorry," They shrugged, then turned and locked eyes with him, "Were you expecting something else? I couldn't just abandon you. You and Candela seem to think that I run on a day planner every second of the day, but, that's not it. Evolution is... complicated, and shocking, and it can be unexpected too. Just because I make plans doesn't mean they'll always work, or that they're well-thought out plans. All I had to do was save you, Spark. So I worked with what I had available to me."

"Save me..." He trailed off, then realized that he and Blanche were still making uncomfortably close eye contact and jumped away, then rubbed the back of his neck and looked away, "Ah, yeah. Thanks again for that. You're... really cool. Even cooler than I used to think."

"Thank you," Blanche nodded, grabbing their own ponytail to try and wring it out, "Although, I probably could have thought out my choice of move a bit better..."

"It was awesome, though! Even if it did soak us," Spark chuckled, then looked back to Blanche, "By the way, you'll probably need to borrow pajamas or loungewear... My regular clothes would probably be kind of small on you."

"Of course. No way am I going to attempt to squeeze myself into your skinny jeans," Blanche shook their head, "You're too short, Spark. You need to grow, at least get as tall as Candela."

"Can't" He shrugged, raising his hands up for added effect, "I can't drink milk."

"Of course you can't," Blanche sighed, "If only we could mega-evolve humans."

"Mega Spark," He laughed, crossing his arms, "Make it happen, Blanche."

"I just might. Of course, that would require you volunteering to be a test subject," They shook their arms, trying to get them even just a little more dry.

"Well, assuming you treat me with as little cruelty as you do your pokemon subjects, I'd be up for that. It'd let us hang out more! Sort of."

"I'm only joking. There's clearly no way to mega evolve a human. Yet. I've only just figured it out with pokemon, and that's just making it work. I still need to research how it actually functions. Professor Sycamore from Kalos gave me his notes, but they're less than useful."

"Dammit. No Mega Spark yet," He sighed, but was grinning.

"Not yet, no," Blanche agreed, then pointed ahead, "We're nearly back. Uncomfortable as I am, at least I like water, so you should change first."

"I have multiple bathrooms, you know," Spark noted, "We can change at the same time, just let me give you something to wear."

"Thanks," Blanche nodded as Spark held the door for them, and walked it. Thankfully, Spark had turned off the blasting Smashmouth before departing the building, so it was nice and peaceful. Somewhat of a mess, but Blanche's own HQ was worse. Organized chaos was their style...

Although, this mess was less things that could be necessary at any time, and more half-eaten bags of doritos. Nonetheless, they wouldn't complain as long as it was quiet.

Spark dashed off immediately, then returned to shove a soft t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants into Blanche's arms. They thanked him, then went off to one of the bathrooms, somehow remembering the location from when they used to spend more time with Spark.

They got changed, glad to be out of the sopping wet Mystic uniform, and couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the shirt they'd been given. It was a graphic tee with a bergmite on it that read 'what's colder than being cold? Coldy Freeze!'. Clearly, Spark had picked it as a joke, but it still made Blanche feel a bit sentimental. He went to the trouble of making this joke, after all, giving the leader of team Mystic an ice-themed shirt. He was always going into little details like that, when it came to socialization. Probably because he had so many ideas buzzing around in his head. After today, however, Blanche knew it would probably be another year till they hung out with him like this. Just like before.

They were just too proud.

They stepped out, leaving their clothes on the shower rod so they would dry, and went out to Spark's kitchen. They sat down at the table, and stared at the wall. Thinking. It was only a few minutes before Spark wandered out, wearing casual clothes himself. His shirt wasn't a joke in itself, a shirt based on a song by a fictional idol group, but when it came to Spark 'Shocking Party' was a pun.

"Hey Spark," Blanche started, voice low and devoid of emotion, "You know. I like spending time with you. Always have."

"Then why'd you stop?" He asked, sliding into the seat across from them.

"Is it that easy to read me?" They questioned, and he nodded somewhat, noncomittal but affirmative, "Okay, yes. I was going to tell you. Because if I don't, I won't be able to spend time with you again. The truth is... I envy you."

"You... you envy me? Seriously? What's there to envy?"

"Plenty," They shrugged, "You're brilliant, when it comes to eggs. Skilled at what you do... and yet, you never seem to worry about anything. No need to plan things out, to be paranoid, you just... take care of your eggs the way you do and you get results."

"Why does that mean you can't be around me, though? You know you're better than me, and evolution is a lot harder too," He shrugged, "I guess it is nice to be carefree but it also goes rotten. Like at the gym earlier."

"I know. You're right," Blanche shrugged, "I can't explain it. I spend time around you... and I feel ashamed of myself. I _am_ competent, I've worked so hard to get where I am, but spending time with you makes me feel less accomplished. It's not your fault, it's just... You take care of things. That's what you do, and..."

"And what, Blanche?" Spark tilted his head to the side, blinking a few times, "Are you okay?"

"Look, Spark. It's embarrassing for somebody as capable as me... to see you taking care of things and want to be taken care of, okay?" They tensed their shoulders, looking down at the table and unable to conceal their blush, "That's the problem, okay? I can't be around you if it diminishes my status as Team Mystic's leader."

“Blanche, that’s…” Spark burst out laughing, “Hilarious! You really think that just because you don’t want to be self-sufficient all the time makes you any less of a capable leader? Seriously!”

“It’s not just that!” Blanche protested, hiding their face, “When I’m with you, I feel… free to participate in shenanigans. No members of Team Mystic can ever see me participating in shenanigans. I’m supposed to be a pillar of dignity, but then you come along and-”

“I come along and get you to relax and have fun?” He offered back, smirking, “Look, you can use all the big words you want, but that’s what it boils down to, right? And you think you can’t do that? It’s not like you need to be the exemplary leader twenty-four seven, Blanche. Besides, we’re friends! Friends are here to let you relax and have fun!”

“But with Candela-” They protested.

“Candela’s different. Her idea of fun is running fifty laps,” He waved a hand around in the air, “Candela’s the friend who’ll push you to improve. I’m the friend who’ll indulge any batshit science experiments you think up. Speaking of, I’ll do that any time.”

“It still… Feels… I feel like if I’m to be respected as Mystic’s leader, I can’t be indulging in such frivolities as… A friendship with you, Spark,” They frowned, holding a hand to their chin, “And it is a frivolity. I enjoy your company far more than should be natural. You make me laugh, and lower my barriers… And my standards. It’s almost… Confusing.”

“Confusing?” Spark asked, leaning forward and sliding the egg (which hadn’t left his side since Blanche entrusted him with it) across the table in front of himself, “Well, it does sound like you have a whole lot of conflicting feelings about me, Blancho.”

“Not conflicted enough to tolerate you calling me Blancho,” They tapped Spark’s arm, teasing, “But, yes. Conflicted. I prefer my feelings to fall into easily defined categories. Euphoria in a new discovery. Annoyance at inconveniences,” They turned and looked away, “Not both at once. Which is what you seem to bring out in me. It was this way… Back when we spoke regularly. I suppose a year apart did nothing to remedy this.”

“Well, emotions aren’t an illness,” Spark shrugged, patting the top of the egg in front of him.

“I know that much. It just feels a lot like it. Almost like nausea,” They looked up at the ceiling, pushing their fingers together nervously, “So perhaps, such a mix of emotions… Will it blend? Will it make a completely different emotion, Spark?”

“Oh?” Spark’s next statement wasn’t in response to Blanche at all, which caused them to look down, only to see that the egg on the table was starting to crack. Of course, Spark’s effort could lead it to hatch so soon. They were correct to trust in his skill, “Look, Blanche! There it is…” He sounded so full of wonder, which seemed odd given how many eggs he must have seen hatch in his life; no, how many he must see every day.

“Hm…” Blanche leaned in closer, examining the egg, only to be suddenly surprised as the pokemon burst out and immediately darted across the room. They did get a look at it, though, “Is that a rotom…?”

“Whoa Blanche!” Spark let out his enthusiasm, jumping up to point at the pokemon, “Yeah! That’s so cool! I’ve never seen a pokemon like rotom hatch from an egg before!”

“It’s…” Blanche noted, watching it zip around, “Looking for something to possess, I think,” They frowned, crossing their arms and keeping their eyes on it right up until it disappeared behind; no, _into_ a disconnected minifridge lying empty in the corner. Within moments, the fridge took on the appearance of a rotom, “And it found something.”

“Blanche!” Spark was practically hopping in place, “Look at that! Blanche, it’s a Frost Rotom! Electric Ice! That’s us, that’s you and me!” He moved closer to them and grabbed one of their shoulders, grinning, “Isn’t that so cool?”

“Spark…” They chuckled, a soft smile on their own face, “Yes. It’s… The coolest.”

“I’m going to name it after you! But, I can’t call it Blanche directly, that’d get real confusing, right? So…” He chuckled, clasping his hands behind his back and moving even closer, “Can I call it Blanchy? Or will you still ally with Valor to crush me for it?”

“That’s fine, Spark,” Blanche nodded slowly, then turned to look him in the eyes. They saw him hesitate, then lifted their hands and grabbed his face.

“Blanche?” He questioned innocently, then again with a hint of panic in his voice, “Blanche, yo, I get you’re probably just being weird but like. Right now it really seems like you’re about to do something super impulsive. Like, kiss me, or something.”

Blanche decided, may as well make a record, today was an impulsive sort of day.


End file.
